TFW in action at our school!
Talk for Writing is now a proven approach in primary schools that is engaging and motivating for pupils and teachers alike. Where it has been applied systematically for several years, writing results have risen significantly.
This can be adapted to suit the needs of all curriculum areas pupils of different ages and attainment.
To help pupils internalise the patterns of language required for any unit in English or any topic or subject across the curriculum, teachers are shown how to use focused talk, based on model text (or model processes) related to curriculum needs. This familiarises pupils with the appropriate patterns of language before they attempt to write anything down or apply a process. At the same time, there is significant emphasis on the vocabulary needed for every unit to enable pupils to rapidly expand their vocabulary. This supports reading because familiarity with the pattern of language and vocabulary is key to becoming a fluent reader and, of course, the more you read, the better your vocabulary and your understanding of the pattern of language becomes. The approach moves from imitating text or processes orally to analysing them so that once the imitiated text has been fully comprehended, pupils look, via a boxing-up process, at how something is structured, and then at the ingredients that create it. This enables pupils to co-construct the toolkit that can help them create their own versions. Pupils are then shown how to innovate on the model so that, over time, they can become independent effective writers. Pupils progressively build up their linguistic competence and understanding thus creating a flexible approach that can be applied to any language task as well as aiding practical application.